The Lab Gallery is pleased to present SHIFTwork by Andre Stitt and Fritz Welch, curated by Robert Curcio of curcioprojects. SHIFTwork is a collaborative installation/performance that will investigate the perceptions of the artist’s method of production as “work” and the artist as a cultural worker. The space becomes a public studio for the exploration of the artist as “common worker” and an artistic activity that exposes the performance of painting as labor and cultural practice. This activity takes the form of a series of work “shifts” that reflect labor patterns and “shiftwork” activity throughout the city.

From April 19th to 16th the public can view the artists on the job working/painting on a series of “live” in-situ works through the large windows of the corner street level gallery during their assigned shifts; see attached schedule. During rush hour (5:30 – 6:30pm) on April 16th, Stitt and Welch will have a live akshun performance within the space where they will dismantle, cut-up, and construct new works from the debris of the paintings they were just working on for distribution to the public, at no cost to them, before becoming marketable products available through curcioprojects. The residual installation and products/art will be on view until April 24th.

SHIFTwork is the first collaborative piece by Stitt and Welch. Internationally renowned cult performance artist, Andre Stitt first met a teenaged Fritz Welch, during a performance at the Commerce Street Artist’s Warehouse in Houston , Texas in 1989. Seventeen years later, Welch invited Stitt to take part in a series of performances accompanying the exhibition Acute Zonal Occult Outer, at The Drawing Center, NYC in 2006.

SHIFTwork is supported by the Arts Council of Wales and Creative Wales Award.

SHIFTwork Schedule and Events:

Thursday, April 9: 8am to Noon , 4pm to 8pm .

Friday, April 10: 8pm to Midnight , short break, until 2am .

Saturday, April 11: 2pm to 4pm. Evening performance of The Peeesseye Brothers with special guest Andre Stitt at West Nile in Brooklyn . www.shinkoyo.com/parislondon; www.peeesseye.com.

Sunday, April 12: 3pm to 7pm .

Monday, April 13: 10am to 2pm, 4pm to 8pm. Noon interview on www.artonair.org.

Tuesday, April 14: Grave yard shift, late night to early morning.

Wednesday, April 15: 2pm to 4pm, 6pm to late night. 7:30 begins in space performance with Ki featuring Tamio Shirasihi and Michiko

Thursday, April 16: 5:30pm to 6:30pm live Akshun performance.

Friday, April 17 to Friday, April 24: installation